Mechanical barn cleaner



July 25, 1950 E. PETERSON MECHANICAL BARN CLEANER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 24, 1948 Q m9 mm v H m H. wk W Q9 wk m9 u ..H.. n 50 Q Inventor Lester 'E. Peterson y 5, 1950 L. E. PETERSON 2,516,798

MECHANICAL BARN CLEANER Filed Feb. 24, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2' m vm mm W m hm vm m mm mm on). H on mn E .W V D H m t n L July 25, 1950 L. E. PETERSON 2,516,798

MECHANICAL BARN CLEANER Filed Feb. 24, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Inventor Fig. Les/er E. Peterson Mum/ a ward V A Home Patented July 25, 1950 U NIT ED STATES OFF'FCE MEGHANIWAL BARN CLEANER. Lester E Peterson, Grantsburg, Wis.

7 Application- February 24, 1948, SerialNo. 10,4912

This inventionrelates generally to, conveyors,

' and more particularly to a. stable gutter cleaner ranged and prcportioned reels'. and dimms: so that a maximumpower is obtained iior starting the carrier.

Still another object of this invention is to pro-- vide power driven reel means which-(maybe enzclosed within the barn or stable, with a relatively small portion 'ot the mechanicat apparatus used i-n'thiS' invention extending outsideoi the stable, with consequent increased. convenience: of the operator.

Yet another object of this: invention to pro.-

vide'a barn cleaner with an inclined extension. of the gutter and puovi'ding-"an idler rollon the upper end of this extension, so! that the drum on which the carrier is wound may-be positioned underneath said extension, 'thisrposis tionin g oi the drum having been found: to fiaoilitate the installation, operation and maintenance of the cleaner. I

I Another objectoi this invention; is to: provide a' fiexibl'er elongated carrier with two cables adapted to move-the carrier 'in two; directions when thesev cables are wound upon separate drums, this feature having been iound tor sun-.- plify the installation, operation and maintenance of these partsioi the" cleaner.

And, the last object be specifically mentioned is to provide. a cleaner oi the character described which is relatively inexpensive and practicable to manufacture, which is extremely simple, convenient, and saieto operate, and which will give generally efiicient and durable service.

With these objects definitely in view, together with other objects oi a. specificcharacter which will become apparent as the, description pmceedathis invention residesin certain novelv features ofconstruction, combination and arrangement 015 parts and portions as,- wi-ll be hereinafter describeddetail the'specification, particularhv pointed; out in. the appended: claims, and llustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a materialpart, of' this application, and: in

: which:

Figure. 1, is a, horizontal, sectional view of a stable having tworgutters', eachgutter having a cleaner constructed according; tothis invention operatively mounted. therein and having separate controls: incorporated with a; single drive means;

Figure 2; is a vertical sectional view of the structure shown in Figure l, the View being taken on the line 22 in Figure 1;;

Figure 3 is; an enlarged, detail view, i top plan, showing the reels referred to hereinafter as. the power driven reels, together with the clutch means. and control lever means therefor, the. lever. beingshown in, horizontal, section and the. other portions: of the figure being shown in top. plan;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view of a drive shaft; and a clutch plate secured on this shaft, the view being taken on theline 4-4 in Figure 3,

and the: clutch platei being shown in side elevation;

Figure 5 is; a similar view showing the, end of power drivenreel adjacent to the clutch plate illustrated in Figure 4;:

Figure 6 i's'an enlarged detail view, in vertical cross sectiomtaken onthe line 8-6 in Figure 3;

the part hereinafter referred to as the 'extension withthe carrier therein, the View being designed to illustrate how angle iron guides are usedv to hold the adjacent portion of the carrier from bei'ng elevated when power is applied to the drum. upon which. the carrier is wound, portions. of the. wall of the. stable bein shown in horizontal cross section and the view being. fragmentary in. character;

Figure 10. is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal section, taken on the line lO-IB in Fig,- ure 1.1; and,

Figure It is a. transverse vertical sectional view, taken On the line I l tl\ in Figure 9-.

Similar characters of reference designate similar or, identical parts and portions throughout the; specificationand throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring now to: the drawings indetail,-, the environment wherewith this invention is; adapt,- edto; be; usedirrcludes; a; barn or stable having walls and [2, a roof or ceiling M, a gutter [6, another gutter l8 which will ordinarily, but not necessarily be parallel to the gutter l6, and a complement of structure ordinarily associated with cattle barns and the like and including stanchions diagrammatically illustrated at A plurality of carriers and coacting mechanisms may be incorporated with a singl drive means including an electric motor 22, a reduction gear box 24 and a long drive shaft 26, this specification being limited to a detailed description of,

a single carrier and the mechanism associated therewith, since the second carrier and mechanism are substantial duplicates. of structure l4, and the motor 22 and gear assembly may also be similarly mounted. A pair of reels and 32, best illustrated in Figure 3, are freely rotatably mounted upon the drive shaft 26. The end plates 34 of these reels are of plain character but the outer end plates 36 are provided with a plurality of spurs or pins 38 adapted for selective engagement with correspondingly apertured clutch plates 43 which are rigidly secured to the drive shaft 28 by means of set screws 42 or other suitable means. That is, each clutch plate is provided with a plurality of apertures 44 adapted to receive the pins 38 on the end plate 36 of one .of the reels 30 and 32 when these reels are moved together longitudinally of the drive shaft 26. A lever handle 45 is pivotally mounted on the loop 4 relation to the gutter l6 and that the upper outer end of the extension shall be constructed with suitable means, including a shaft 92 supported on any suitable bracket 94 and adapted to carry an idler roller 96 disposed transversely of the carrier which is entrained thereabout and returned for terminal seourement to the drum 80. In this connection it may be noted that the end plate 98 and the center plate I00 of the drum '80 will be of considerable diameter and ruggedly constructed,

. .and it is preferred that the transverse bars 12 on M, as at 48, and this handle carries a bifurcated member or yoke having the arm. portions thereof frictionally associated in grooves 52 formed in inwardly extending portions 55 of each of the reels 30 and 32. It will be seen that this clutch lever 46 may be used to move the reels longitudinally of the shaft 26 so that one or other of the clutch plates 48 will be engaged.

Cables 55 and 58 are terminally secured, one

to each of the reels 30 and 32, and the cable'SS is entrained over pulleys 5t and 52 on the outside of the wall 10 which is suitably apertured, as at 4 andfi'ii to allow the cable to pass therethrough. The lower end of the cable 56 is secured by means of any suitable fastening means to what will be considered the inner end 58 of-the carrier which is comprised of a pair of spaced apart parallel chains ill and transverse slats or bars: 12, terminally secured to these chains, the width of the carrier thus comprised being substantially equal to the width of the gutter I6, a practical amount of clearance being provided to allow the carrier to move easily along the gutter.

The other cable 58 is similarly associated with pulleys M and i6 mounted on the'outside'of the wall [2 and the outer end of the cable 58 is secured to the reel 18 which may be formed integral with the drum 38 upon which the outer 'end of the carrier is wound, and upon which the complete carrier is wound during the operation of the device. This drum 89 and the reel T8 are mounted on a shaft 82 which is, in turn, mounte'd'upon an upright 84 incorporated with the extension 86, that is, the upwardly inclined table member disposed colinearly with the gutter i8 and extending outwardly from the wall 12 which is aper the carrier should be regularly spaced so that the diameter of the wound carrier on the drum 8!! will be held to a minimum.

When an elevated extension 86 is used, tensioning of the carrier will tend to cause an intermediate portion thereof to rise out of the gutter l6, and a pair of angle iron guide members I02 on each side of the gutter and the extension adjacent the wall I? are provided to guidethis portion of the carrier into the gutter It. The 621C 401 the guide members may be upturned as a r The operation of this invention will be clearly understood from the foregoing description of the mechanical details thereof, takenin connection with the above recitation of the objects sought to be achieved by this invention.

In recapitulationgit need only. be added that the handle 46 may be placed in neutral position or moved to cause the winding of either one of the cables 56 or 58' upon the respective reel, it being carefully noted that the said'cables are wound in opposite directions upon these reels. This construction allows the motor 22,-which will, of course, be supplied with proper power leads and switch connections, to be operated in one direction, a simplification over devices of'a similar. nature provided heretofore.

Material carried by the carrier over the idler roller 96 will fall by gravity from the carrier prior to the winding of this carrier upon the drum 8!]. Ordinarily, this material will 'be deposited in a manure spreader, or the extension 86 my be of such a height and character that the device may be operated for a considerable length of time without removal of the delivered material. As stated above, the operation of the second carrier is practically a duplication of the operation of the carrier described in detail, but it will be noted that the specific construction described above facilitates the incorporation of a plurality of carriers and operating mechanisms therefor with a single power unit such as the electric motor 22.

It will be clear from the foregoing that all of the objects of this invention have been amply achieved and it will also be clear that this invention may be embodied in structure varying in detail and proportionment of the parts thereof, all within the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, this invention should be limited only in accordance with a proper interpretation of the terminology used in the subjoined claims.

Having described the invention, what' is claimed as new'is:

1. A stable gutter cleaner comprising an elongated flexible carrier slidably' mounted in a gutter, a drum rotatively mounted colinearly with the gutter and beyond one end thereof, said drum being adapted to have said carrier wound thereon, an idler roller operatively' associated with said carrier and disposed above and on the side of said drum remote fromsaid one end 0f the gutter so that material transported by said carrier is gravitationally delivered from portions of the carrier prior to the winding of said portions on the drum, means to rotate said drum and other means to retract said carrier into said gutter, said first mentioned means comprising a large diameter reel associated with said drum, a smaller diameter power driven reel, and a cable terminally secured to said reels, so that maximum power is obtained for starting the carrier, said other means comprising a power driven third reel, and a cable terminally secured to one end of the carrier and to said third reel, said power driven reels being freely rotatively mounted on a drive shaft, motor means to drive said shaft in one direction, clutch means for selectively connecting said reels to said drive shaft, said cables being wound on said driven reels in opposite directions.

2. A cleaner according to claim 1 and including guide means for a carrier at the lower end of said extension of the gutter comprising a pair of opposed angle iron members to engage the upper lateral edge portions of the carrier and to prevent the carrier from rising out of the gutter when being retracted.

LESTER E. PETERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,441,555 Bobseine Jan. 9, 1923 1,444,119 Hedlund et al Feb. 6, 1923 1,668,815 Livingston May 8, 1928 2,171,330 Custer Aug. 29, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 9,817 Great Britain 1909 

